Natalie Erlich

Writer/Producer

Natalie Erlich reports on Latin American markets for CNBC.com. She has also covered other emerging markets, such as China, and interviewed CEOs and Chinese officials at the NYSE. Prior to CNBC, she covered the London bombings and Supreme Court for NBC's Investigative Unit in Washington, D.C.

While earning her master's degree at Columbia University, Erlich reported on Lehman Brothers and contributed to investigations of Bernard Madoff's accountant. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, she lived in Brazil and Spain, and learned Portuguese and Spanish . Her travels have taken her to Panama, Argentina, Hungary, Russia and Israel.

More

Continued worries over Europe's debt crisis has pumped fear into the stock market, keeping investors on the sidelines. "Because everyone is afraid to invest, stocks are at their lowest level in my lifetime," said Ron Baron, Chairman and CEO of Baron Capital.

According to a survey by American Express OPEN, it takes a small business contractor, on average, 4.4 tries before landing its first federal contract. The survey, which polled 740 contractors, also found that they are investing more money even as they bid on fewer contracts.

As investors flee Latin American markets on fears that commodity-hungry China will slow down, now could be the time to pick up bargains, Will Landers, who manages BlackRock’s Latin American portfolio, told CNBC.com.

As Wall Street kicks off the fourth quarter, the best case scenario for markets would be "one, quick shot down," and the worst case scenario would be a rally, Paul Schatz, Heritage Capital president, told CNBC on Monday.